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Microsoft Project Server vs Planisware comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 4, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
5.1
Microsoft Project Server offers positive ROI, varying by organization type, with benefits of time savings and improved reporting.
Sentiment score
1.0
Planisware is highly valued in pharma for project management, though opinions differ on its financial benefits and effectiveness.
Microsoft Project provides significant return on investment through time savings, enhanced visibility, real-time reporting, and risk mitigation for projects.
Project Manager at Digital Research Alliance of Canada
It is primarily used for the pharma vertical and related fields, and since we were running a full ERP digital transformation project in the life sciences domain, it suited that requirement very well.
Solution Architect at Think People
Sometimes I feel that the ROI is not optimal because we are totally dependent on Planisware's system stability.
Planisware Developer at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
4.4
Microsoft Project Server support is decent but inconsistent; users rely on external resources and partners for comprehensive assistance.
Sentiment score
2.8
Planisware's customer service is enthusiastic yet dependent on costly advanced support, with some feedback noting varied response accuracy.
It's challenging to navigate, often making it necessary to search for solutions externally.
Project Manager at Digital Research Alliance of Canada
Their support tends to decline when not supporting cloud solutions.
Managing Director at Knights Innovation Support Centre
Communication with two people, one was knowledgeable while the other was learning.
Independent Business Consultant at Freelance
The support was good, but there's more space for collaboration that we can do internally through Planisware, which was not the case.
Principal, Technical Project Management at Teletech Holdings
We experienced a couple of issues, and they responded and resolved the issues and bugs promptly.
Solution Architect at Think People
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.5
Microsoft Project Server is scalable for large projects, though performance may vary based on version and infrastructure costs.
Sentiment score
4.9
Planisware offers stable scalability on resourceful servers, with customization on-premises and strategic modifications for extensive user environments.
The desktop version does not have scalability.
Independent Business Consultant at Freelance
Microsoft Project Server is fully scalable and is widely used in many industries.
Project Manager at Marvell Technology Group
The scalability of Planisware is good, as when you want to implement changes, you need to manage the process with your collaborators.
Responsible for the Project Infrastructure at Comutitres
We experienced crashes in the upcoming year, but these mostly occurred on weekends, which minimized the impact on our users.
Planisware Developer at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.1
Microsoft Project Server is stable and robust, with minor delays, improved in newer versions, especially the cloud version.
Sentiment score
6.4
Planisware, especially in SaaS, is stable and reliable, with minor bugs, and praised by companies like Pepsico and Ford.
I have never had to reach out to their support because the product works as expected.
Project Manager at Digital Research Alliance of Canada
They have made significant improvements, but still, there is a long way to go in terms of their flexibility, adaptability, and usability.
Solution Architect | Planisware Consultant at Schlumberger
Sometimes the ROI is affected because we are totally dependent on Planisware's system stability.
Planisware Developer at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
 

Room For Improvement

Microsoft Project Server requires better integration, customization, user-friendliness, cloud functionality, and agile methodologies to compete with alternatives.
Planisware needs enhancements in integration, UI/UX, reporting, accessibility, stability, collaboration, flexibility, and third-party system integration.
Exporting data from Microsoft Project, especially Gantt charts, is overly complex and not user-friendly.
Project Manager at Digital Research Alliance of Canada
Microsoft has become increasingly expensive, and there seems to be a push towards cloud solutions which can be challenging for some.
Managing Director at Knights Innovation Support Centre
The lack of collaboration capabilities on the desktop version, unlike the cloud version, is a limitation.
Independent Business Consultant at Freelance
The integrations to Agile are essential; we had to do a full build to accomplish that.
Solution Architect at Think People
We have experienced crashes in Planisware and system slowdowns.
Planisware Developer at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
The reports should be improved because all companies now need reporting, and with tools such as Grafana or Tableau, Planisware needs to add interfaces for data lakes since all companies require this.
Responsible for the Project Infrastructure at Comutitres
 

Setup Cost

Microsoft Project Server offers flexible pricing, with on-premise and cloud options, potentially costing enterprises $120,000 to $150,000 annually.
Planisware is a costly tool with licensing, setup, support, and training expenses, requiring strategic management commitment.
Microsoft Project Server is on the expensive side due to high licensing costs.
Project Manager at Marvell Technology Group
Microsoft's products are expensive for individuals.
Independent Business Consultant at Freelance
Considering the infrastructure commitments to SharePoint and SQL, the implementation costs are low if already set up.
Managing Director at Knights Innovation Support Centre
 

Valuable Features

Microsoft Project Server streamlines complex project management with resource allocation, integration, and robust tools for efficient collaboration and scheduling.
Planisware provides robust project management with resource planning, data integration, Agile support, and built-in BI tools for enhanced decision-making.
This setup allows for comprehensive reporting and management across multiple projects and portfolios.
Managing Director at Knights Innovation Support Centre
The dashboards are amazing for data crunching and provide a project focus with upcoming predictions, including burn-up and burn-down charts.
Project Manager at Marvell Technology Group
The Gantt chart is also a very powerful tool for a visual presentation of sequences, critical paths, and execution processes, which simplifies comprehension for users.
Project Manager at Digital Research Alliance of Canada
The tools communicate with other tools, making it effective, and when we have a new resource, we can add it and send it to the resource management team, who can view it in Planisware.
Responsible for the Project Infrastructure at Comutitres
 

Categories and Ranking

Microsoft Project Server
Ranking in Project Portfolio Management
5th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
62
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Planisware
Ranking in Project Portfolio Management
1st
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
5.6
Number of Reviews
19
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Project Portfolio Management category, the mindshare of Microsoft Project Server is 4.1%, down from 7.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Planisware is 7.7%, down from 9.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Project Portfolio Management Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Planisware7.7%
Microsoft Project Server4.1%
Other88.2%
Project Portfolio Management
 

Featured Reviews

Ipsita Seth - PeerSpot reviewer
Project Manager at Marvell Technology Group
Enables effective workload monitoring and data insights with powerful features
Microsoft Project Server is quite a powerful tool and offers a good way of seeing dependencies and interactions, along with baselines. The resource management feature allows us to monitor workload and resource load effectively. Additionally, the dashboards are amazing for data crunching and provide a project focus with upcoming predictions, including burn-up and burn-down charts.
ST
Solution Architect at Think People
Highly robust tool enhances project management for large-scale programs
The tool can be improved with integrations to Agile tools. We used Azure DevOps, which I dislike. Better integrations to JIRAs and perhaps open APIs for task management would be super beneficial. As a project management tool, it is perfect, but the ability to be agile with task management could improve it. There is always an opportunity for more flexibility regarding integrated reporting. The project dashboard feature worked perfectly for small to small-medium projects, but on a large scale, it was not flexible enough to handle a program-level dashboard. However, that is probably a nice-to-have rather than a need-to-have. The integrations to Agile are essential; we had to do a full build to accomplish that.
report
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
15%
Computer Software Company
13%
Government
10%
Performing Arts
7%
Manufacturing Company
20%
Energy/Utilities Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Computer Software Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business25
Midsize Enterprise12
Large Enterprise33
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business2
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise16
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Microsoft Project Server?
The ability to track a project's progress using Microsoft Project Server is the most valuable aspect. It depends, especially when managing multiple projects.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Project Server?
The pricing for Microsoft Project Server is standard, around $200-$250, but I think it's actually $80 to $100 per year. The pricing for Microsoft Project Server is relative; I would say it is cheap.
What needs improvement with Microsoft Project Server?
In order to improve Microsoft Project Server, collaborative features could be enhanced, as it is possible to improve it in a collaborative way similar to other office products, for example, using c...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Planisware?
Planisware is very costly. I can comment that it's expensive, and even the consultants from Planisware charge a very high rate for their time. Generally speaking, they are expensive.
What needs improvement with Planisware?
The tool can be improved with integrations to Agile tools. We used Azure DevOps, which I dislike. Better integrations to JIRAs and perhaps open APIs for task management would be super beneficial. A...
What is your primary use case for Planisware?
My use cases involve building out a template library based on our methodology and continuing to iterate on that. We used a template, and basically, to start this out, we built out the template libr...
 

Also Known As

MS Project Server
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Magnachip, Gwinnett County Schools, CLEAResult, Medbit Oy, Intelbras S.A., ETS, CORE Construction, Keller Foundations
Apotex, Alstom Transport, HP, Stryker, Rexam, Jotun, Gelita, Kraton Performance Polymers, Abbvie, Rio Tinto Alcan, Maruho, Teva, SK Chemicals
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Project Server vs. Planisware and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
880,490 professionals have used our research since 2012.